Experience with 28mm lenses

WNG555 · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 784 Location: Arrid-Zone-A, USA

Have you seen this 'mega' thread?

http://forum.mflenses.com/your-best-28-and-how-you-got-there-t45236,start,15.html

As for your Hoya, if it's the one I think it is, you already have a very good to excellent (vintage) lens.
8 bladed aperture? Stopping down it looks like a circular saw blade? When flares show, you get 8 teeth-like points?

Made by Tokina, and Tokina sells it as Tokina RMC instead of Hoya HMC. Also made for other brands like Vivitar and Soligor, etc.

I have an older version that is single-coated. And it's excellent for landscapes. As is their 35mm f/2.8.
I believe these are 7 elements in 7 groups optical formula. I think they are superior to the later 5 by 5 designs.
And that seems to be the consensus.
I've found the 5/5 to have very good near-field focus, but poor sharpness at far-field focus. The 7/7 are much better edge to edge and excels for landscapes.

My best is a Konica Hexanon AR 28mm f/3.5 (7x7 version). Very sharp and accurate color. It's multi-coated too, and I have the Konica matching hood for it. (You should ALWAYS shoot with a hood for older lenses!)
This older model is considered better than the last 5/5 model.

Minoltas, as mentioned above....many versions over the years, and even formula changes within the same model.
The last release of the MD 28mm f/2.8 isn't as good (5/5). Earlier MC W.Rokkor-SI is f2.5, radioactive (9/7), and the best 28mm f/2.8 was the MD W.Rokkor-X. It's a 7/7 and the same lens was sold by Leica. It's expensive if you should find one. The f/2.5 SI is also pricey.

I picked up the Celtic copy, which is actually identical to the Rokkor, down to the MD coatings and construction. [EDIT] 55mm filter diameter assures the correct version. Learned that there were 49mm 7/7 W.Rokkor/Celtic versions. These used more plastic, and the last 5/5 version looks identical.
It's a superb all-around 28mm, with excellent resolution, micro-contrast and color rendering. A bit cooler, but vibrant.

These are my top 3 favorite 28mm f/2.8, based on performance.

Fourth is a Tamron 28mm f/2.5 02B Adaptall-2. Excellent build, easy to shoot with, cool colors, but flare prone. This hurt it the most, as it shoots landscapes very well.

Other 28s that come highly recommended, but fell short of expectation and results....

Vivitar 28mm f/2.5 by Kino: avoid it! Terrible wide open, lots of aberrations, and fringing. Must be stopped down to get sharp and clean up the image, but the landscapes look crappy. Flattened and lifeless.

Vivitar 28mm f/2.8 Close-Focus by Komine: a 5x5 design, and compact. Center sharp, edges smeared. Poor landscapes from it. Great results from close up and short distances like group shots. Didn't live up to the hype for expansive photos. (perhaps I have a worn copy, saw the results of a pristine copy and the images are outstanding.)

Super Takumar 28mm f/3.5 (both 58mm and S-M-C 49mm diameter versions) Like the Komine Vivitar above, great lens for up close, but landscapes were less satisfactory. Although I've seen others get excellent results shooting cityscapes with this lens. Just didn't work out for me.

I have hoods for use on all my older manual focus lenses. I have a collapsible rubber wide-angle model that doesn't vignette.
They are cheap on ebay, and worth getting.

asfethan · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 9:39 am Post subject:

So I'm back with some experience. I ended with 24mm lens Tamron 01BB and I'm happy with it.
There are also important things I learned about landscape photography. The correct hood for wide-angle lens is a must-have.
Also polarizing filter is base equipment for landscape photographer so I bought Marumi DHG for my Tamron.
It has 55mm diameter and via step-down ring I can use it on my 28mm Hoya too.

And there are some examples captured with Tamron.

And something with Marumi DHG C-PL mounted on.

pinholecam · Joined: 26 Nov 2012 Posts: 223

Pentax K28/3.5.
Very good for the price.

Constructing the urban future by jenkwang, on Flickr

There is a full sized sample on my Flickr.

gaeger · Expire: 2021-03-09

No love for the Nikkor 28mm f3.5? You can get the AI and Ai-S versions for a song.

memetph · Joined: 01 Dec 2013 Posts: 940 Location: Poland

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

@asfethan

those look excellent Smile

WNG555 · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 784 Location: Arrid-Zone-A, USA

Excellent asfethan! I especially like the last two.
The Tamron 01BB is a superb 24mm. One of the best out there.
Love my copy...enough to buy their 28mm 02B. As mentioned, if it wasn't so prone to flare, it would be one of my favorite 28s.

asfethan · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:19 pm Post subject:

@pinholecam
This lens was recommended in this thread and I couldn't find one nice piece on evil bay. Sure I didn't look for it every day Confused

Its reputation is great and it's very good performer as I can see.

@memetph
Yes, it's very hot here for this location. Today we had about 38Â°C in Bratislava. I walked through that underpass yesterday after beer session Twisted Evil

@uhoh7
Thanks a lot!

@WNG555
Thanks and I share that opinion but I think the Hoya is a little bit better in contrast.
For me the lens flare isn't so big deal after experience gain I mentioned.
In harsh light conditions during mid-day I'm using C-PL and its usage rules prevent such conditions where lens is prone to flare.
Also the lens hood is a must-have for wide-angle lens.

fwcetus · Joined: 12 Jun 2015 Posts: 303 Location: New England

My best 28's (which are the only three I currently still have) -

1. SMC Pentax "K" 28/2 (the optical "Hollywood" twin of the Zeiss Distagon 28/2)

2. SMC Pentax "K" 28/3.5 (a simple design that always outperforms)

3. Vivitar Series 1 28/1.9 (in K-mount) (a joy to use)

Kei · Joined: 08 Jan 2015 Posts: 142 Location: S. Wales UK